Eclipse 12 Aug 2026 · 20:40
Barbate
36.192°, -5.922° · 18 m a.s.l.
93% of the Sun covered at maximum
Visible · score 50/100 Sun at +7° · 284° WNW
The Sun clears local terrain by 3.97° at peak.
Partial eclipse · 93% obscuration
BARBATE · 36.192° N -5.922° W
Photo: Technische Fred at nl.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In Barbate, the Moon covered 93% of the Sun.
At 20:40 local time, the Moon took a bite out of the Sun over Barbate, covering up to 93% of its disc. It didn't become a total or annular eclipse: the Sun kept shining throughout.
The other two eclipses from here
Eclipse 2 Aug 2027
Score 100/ 100
Full totality visible
The Sun will be 37-41° high, so terrain rules out no city at all: of the 560 assessed, 522 tie on the same score. What decides is being inside the path.
Eclipse 26 Jan 2028
Score 80/ 100
Full ring visible
See the eclipse from Barbate minute by minute
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About Barbate
Barbate is a coastal municipality in the province of Cádiz, in the far southwestern corner of Andalusia, with some 22,500 inhabitants and barely 18 meters above sea level. The locality occupies the Atlantic coast of the Cádiz shoreline, between the La Breña y Marismas nature reserve and Cape Trafalgar, the historic promontory that lent its name to the 1805 naval battle. Its position facing the Strait of Gibraltar, from which Africa becomes visible on the clearest days, gives the municipality a distinctly Atlantic geographic character.
For this eclipse
On August 12, 2026, Barbate will witness a partial solar eclipse that reaches its maximum at 20:39, local time. The Sun will already be very low on the horizon—just 6.7 degrees in altitude—when the moment of greatest obscuration occurs. The margin above the horizon is around 4 degrees, so observation is possible, but it is advisable to position yourself at a viewpoint without obstacles to the west so as not to miss the phenomenon in the final minutes of daylight.
The weather in August
August in Barbate is one of the most meteorologically stable months of the year. The Atlantic coast of Cádiz benefits in midsummer from a maritime influence that tempers temperatures and moderates the extreme radiation of interior Andalusia. AEMET historical records for the period 1991–2020 indicate a low risk of storms during this month, which favors relatively clear skies on the afternoon of the eclipse. The levante wind, when it blows, can bring occasional cloudiness, though afternoons tend to be sunnier than mornings.
Past eclipses
The last total solar eclipse visible from Barbate took place on December 22, 1870, more than 155 years ago: totality lasted around one minute and forty-six seconds over these Cádiz coasts. After the partial eclipses of 2026 and 2028, it will be necessary to wait until September 12, 2053 for the umbral cone to cross the locality again and for totality to be witnessed once more from here.
Direction and altitude of the Sun
At the moment of maximum eclipse, at 20:39, the Sun will be at 6.7 degrees above the horizon with an azimuth of 284 degrees, almost exactly west-northwest. Observers should orient themselves looking toward the Atlantic and slightly north of due west to frame the celestial body. At that hour the Sun will be in rapid descent toward sunset, so choosing an elevated point or one with a clear sea horizon will be decisive in not missing the final moments of the phenomenon.
Editorial text by eclipses.app · Data: Wikidata, AEMET, NASA and JPL planetary ephemerides.
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The eclipse from Barbate
In Barbate, the eclipse reached its maximum at 20:40 local time, with 93% of the Sun covered by the Moon.
In Barbate, the Sun was 7° above the horizon, toward the WNW. Even so, a clear horizon toward the WNW helped.
This area typically sees around 0% median cloud cover at that hour, based on ten years of historical data — not a forecast for this specific eclipse.
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Don't miss it
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Eclipse schedule in Barbate
Local time · Europe/Madrid| Phase | Local time | UTC | Progress | Sun alt. | Sun az. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 — Partial begins | 19:44:05 | 17:44:05 UTC | +17.6° | 275.8° | |
| Maximum | 20:39:31 | 18:39:31 UTC | +6.7° | 283.6° | |
| The Sun sets behind the terrain(terrain event, not an eclipse phase) | 21:01 | 19:01 UTC | +2.6° | 286.6° | |
| C4 — Partial endsnot visible | 21:31:18 | 19:31:18 UTC | -2.8° | 291.1° |
Phases marked with ⛰️ were not seen: the Sun was already hidden behind the real terrain at that moment.
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Eclipse phases
Times in CEST local time
Oriented as seen with the naked eye, zenith up (official ephemerides usually draw it with celestial north up, rotated with respect to this).
Phases shown in red aren't observable: they happen while the Sun is below the horizon.
Location
- Latitude
- 36.1924° N
- Longitude
- 5.9219° W
- Elevation
- 18 m
Eclipse phases
- Eclipse begins
- 19:44:05
- Maximum
- 20:39:31
- Eclipse ends
- 21:31:18
- Sunset (flat horizon)
- 21:17:32
Duration
- Eclipse
- 1h 47m 13s
Values at maximum
- Obscuration
- 93%
- Sun altitude
- +6.7°
- Sun azimuth
- 283.6°
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Sun direction and altitude at maximum
It was toward WNW (283.6°)
283.6° WNW
Azimuth at maximum
6.67°
Sun altitude at maximum
2.70°
Terrain horizon
+3.97°
Sun−terrain margin
What the contact points (C1-C4) mean
A solar eclipse is described by four key moments, the contact points between the discs of the Sun and the Moon:
- C1First contact: the Moon touches the edge of the Sun and the partial eclipse begins.
- C2Second contact: the Moon fully covers the Sun and totality begins.
- C3Third contact: the Sun reappears and totality ends.
- C4Fourth contact: the Moon leaves the Sun's disc and the eclipse ends.
Where the eclipse is only partial, the Moon never fully covers the Sun: only C1 and C4 occur, with no totality in between.
Peaks near Barbate
| Peak | Elevation | Distance | Azimuth |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bartolomé | 442 m | 21.0 km | 124° SE |
| Torre de Viglilancia forestal | — | 24.0 km | 110° ESE |
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The August sky
0%Historical average cloud cover
P25 — clearer days · 0%Median cloud cover · 0%P75 — cloudier days · 3%
10-year average over 70 samples: the 3 days before and after 12 August, at the same eclipse hour · Source: ERA5 (ECMWF)
Cloud forecast
Full cloud-cover forecast for eclipse day, including the hour-by-hour outlook toward the sun. Available with PRO.
See plansOther eclipses seen from Barbate
- Last total eclipseDecember 22, 1870156 years ago
- Next total eclipseSeptember 12, 2053
- Next annular eclipseJuly 13, 2075
Solar eclipses computed from astronomical ephemerides for the city's coordinates.
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Frequently asked questions about the eclipse in Barbate
Was the eclipse of August 12, 2026 visible from Barbate?
Yes, partial eclipse: the Sun was 93% covered at maximum from Barbate.
What time was the eclipse maximum in Barbate?
Maximum occurred at 20:39 local time (18:39 UTC) in Barbate.
Which direction was the Sun in during the eclipse from Barbate?
The Sun was toward the WNW (azimuth 284°), 7° above the horizon at maximum from Barbate.
Was Barbate a good place to watch the eclipse?
Barbate was a good option (score 50/100): all eclipse phases were visible, though not the regional optimum.
Do I need special glasses to watch the eclipse?
Yes, you need ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses during every partial phase. Regular sunglasses do NOT protect. Glasses can only be removed during the totality phase (when the Sun is fully covered); never during annular or partial eclipses. Pages flagged "visible" assume a clear horizon, not a viewing recommendation.
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